Presence

pres·ence

 [prez-uhns] noun

1. the state or fact of being present,  as with others or in a place.

2. attendance or company: Your presence is requested.

3. immediate vicinity; proximity: in the presence of witnesses.

 

 Exodus 33 (NIV) ¹⁴ The Lord replied, “My Presence^(Y) will go with you, and I will give you rest.”^(Z)15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence^(AA) does not go with us, do not send us up from here. ¹⁶ How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us?^(AB) What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”^(AC)17 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked,^(AD) because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

 

1 Kings 10 (NKJV)

24  Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God has put in his heart 

 

Question for you: Have you ever tried having a long distance relationship (before Skype and cheap international or interstate phone call rates or VOIP)? 

When you are away from the family or friends for either weeks/months or even a few days, what effect does that have your relationship? 

 

Could you carry on a marriage, where you live separately? A "presenceless" marriage?   Is that a relationship? 

 

Business folks: What is your preferred mode of communication? Phone, email, or in person? 

 

Could this Ironmen group work and function if you did not turn up each fortnight? 

 

Why is it, that after speaking with someone either through the internet or phone, that there is a desire to actually meet them physically, experience their presence? 

 

What's with the saying: "We are honored by your presence"...? 

 

Why is it that with people we admire, look up to, are fans of, (lest I say idolize) will go to extordinary lengths to meet them, it not to meet them, be in the same room/street/building as them?  

 

It reminds me of my school-friends who, after a U2 concert in Sydney, spent hours hanging outside their change room just to see them exit after the show had finished.  

 

Or the crowds that amassed at the Opera House when Oprah came to Australia.  It seems we have bought the lie of worshipping self, in the form of a celebrity.  

 

Think about it for a minute, one of the attributes, God put in us was gregariousness, that is to have a social capacity, a need for companionship ("it is not good for man to be alone"). 

 

God made mankind in His image.  Which tells me that God is somewhat like us. Don't stone me, but think about it, if we are like God, then God is like us.  NOTE, I am not suggesting in the slightest that we are equal or have the same capacity of God. 

God made man for a relationship. Adam, walked in the Presence of God.  

It's not like God goes "Ahh, there we go, Adam's made, best be off, leave it with you Adam, I might come back later this year, millennium, or not at all, see ya!" 

 

What is an essential part of that relationship? To be present. 

 

Why's this applicable to men? Why am I making a point about this at Ironmen? 

 

What is one of the things that we men do well? In fact we excel at it? 

 

Cave time....

 

Cave time can be a good thing from time to time. I'm not totally opposed to it.  

 

But separation leads to breakdown.  We hide in that cave and separate ourselves.  We abdicate our presence from the other.

 

Without the presence of the other person/people (wife, kids, workers, associates, clients, friends, influencers ) then what is left? 

 

Take it another step further, what has religion done so well? Killed the Presence of God, with religious practices and rituals.  

 

My call to action here is to remind ourselves of the highest importance of seeking and putting time and effort in having His Presence in our lives. A touch and presence with Him makes all the difference.

 

But also reminding ourselves that to be Present, to take your presence to others that either need it, or will benefit from it. 

 

As John Eldrige put it so eloquently "Let the person feel the weightiness of your presence"

 

Show me marriage that has 2 people doing their own things and largely separated, and in time, they will be divorced. 

Show me a young man, that reflects on his childhood with a father that was always travelling and I will show you a dysfunctional relationship. 

 

Show me a Christian who doesn't value the Presence of God, and I will show you a religious frozen chosen judge-mental person. 

What's wrong with this picture.....?

Gents,

There's nothing too deep in this post, but I think it does hold significant sway about how we (meaning mankind) fool ourselves.

Walk with me for a minute...

Nim had a bunch of magazines on the table as she was in the midst of throwing them out.  So I sit down to eat my dinner and pick up a copy of Marie Claire, August 2009 edition. I'm flicking through it, as per usual, there is a plethora of 15 year old girls emaciated and looking like they just had a lobotomy that has removed their personality, along with some articles like "When does Porn become Adultery"  , there are the a-typical pictures of women looking to seduce the male race, a celebrity photo shoot of "older" women (Cindy Crawfed and Sharon Stone) and a naked Canadian model covering up her naughty bits.... and glossy ads, you know the type - 18 year olds selling perfume looking like they are about ride off on a cloud or the starship enterprise...

I come to the Editor's Letter opening remark.

Watch now....

(Jackie Frank)

"I've always admired Therese Rein. Here's a woman who has raised a family, supported husband Kevin Rudd in his high profile career, and founded a recruitment agency that grew into an international company worth millions of dollars. So I was outraged to read the recent rash of stories about her "shock" weight loss. What really upset me (even more that the intrusive shots of her at the gym) was the snide tone in which they were written, and the frankly ridiculous comaprisons that were drawn between Therese and another first lady - and former supermodel - Caria Bruni-Sarkozy. Several intimated that only now could "trim Therese" confidently greet French President's wife when she visted in July. The inference was that her appearance held more value than anything else. 
I've worked with Carla many times, and she's a really engaging woman who's a lot of fun. But Therese is a smart, gutsy lady who has single handedly built a business empire. Why on earth shouldn't she greet Carla - or anyone, for that matter - with her head held high? Unformtunately when I was asked to talk about Therese on Melbourne radio recently, nobody wanted to discuss her achievements - just her weight loss.
[NOTE, here is the good bit]
Now, as the editor of a fashion magazine, I'm aware that I'm going out on a limb talking about this topic. I know what you are thinking - well, who are you to talk about women and weight when you only use skinny models in your magazine? In rely, I'd say fasion is about dreams and aspirations and , on a practical note, clothes photograph better on sample-sized models. But what I am taling about here is the way women are continually judged by the size of their waist, rather than the size of their brain."

I almost fell off my chair and re-read this to Nim with much laughter.

We (mankind) are brilliant at sucking in a lie and mainstreaming it....

Women have a hard enough time trying to be secure in themselves with roughly a 1/3 of families growing up without their father, with the majority of teenagers watching porn and girls having to "act out" their boyfriends sexual adventure, with women constantly talking about being sexy and hot, with "women's sexual revolution" empowering women to have 100,000 abortions in Australia a year, have more sexual partners by Year 12 than boys..... And then we have a women's magazine editor justifying her "weight loss" support of Therese followed 3 pages later with a naked supermodel, I mean "sample-sized models"..... and we normalise it and call it a dream and aspiration.... normalising dysfunction I think is more apt.  Buying the lie....

Women are beautiful, amazing, incredible. Women are beyond description.

Marie Clare, why normalise a lie and call it "sample size"?

Gratitude - spiritual heart strength

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
Desire realised is the Tree of Life"
Proverbs 13:12

 "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
    for the Lord has anointed me
    to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
    and to proclaim that captives will be released
    and prisoners will be freed."
Isaiah 61:1 


² When John,^(C) who was in prison,^(D) heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples ³ to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come,^(E) or should we expect someone else?”
⁴ Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy^[b] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.^{(F) 6} Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”^(G)
Matthew 11:2-6

 ¹¹ Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Matthew 11:11

Isn't it interesting that the greatest profit on planet earth questions wether Jesus was the One. And this after he Baptizes Jesus.

And Jesus opening statement at the start of his ministry is Isaiah 61: "I have come to set prisoners free"  And where is John? In prison.

Think about it.

And what does Jesus do? He reminds John of what's been done.

He doesn't take John through a long exegetical explanation of the OT or a theological discussion about the possibilities of God's power and scripture.

He says: The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

In other words, "John, look around and see. Be reminded of what you see God doing and take encouragement".  No condemnation, no accusation, no "how could you not get it John!".

 And yet still, Jesus still wants John to end well.  " No one greater than John..."

When I am in a place of darkness, and feeding my heart on the Enemies word, fear, doubt, discouragement, I can't hear or understand my Father's voice.  Oh how many times, have I replaced what my Father says about me, for me, toward me, with the Enemies words.

So what should I do?  Remind myself of what He's done.

Oh yeah, that time that we fulfilled our $100K commitment to OI and R&B That time I got that word for the birth of our child after 2 miscarriages. That time,  He spoke to my innermost heart about my father.  That time I got a crazy pay rise when I left my previous job. That time when I got my achilles heal healed,.....  That time when all those people at church were healed, that time when Rob was reconciled to his family and they came to Christ.... That time that Jeff and Cath got pregnant at 44.

Then I hear His voice.

Get around other believers and talk about the good things God has done.
Read Psalms or Gospels until praise and gratitude overtake your heart
Recognise the Enemies tactic and cut it off before it grows.

We can do better...

"Not long ago, several of Newton's women friends told him they had been sexually assaulted. His first reaction was to retaliate against their assailants. Asked what he felt when the was told what had happened to his women friends, he said: "Anger, and fear for them. It makes you want to act and do something physical towards the bloke who did it." Instead, he joined an international campaign to get men and boys involved in the prevention of violence against women. As a White Ribbon Foundation ambassador, he has publicly taken the oath. "I swear never to commit, excuse, or remain silent about violence against women." One in six Australian women has been the victim of rape, or of a non-penetrative sexual assault, a joint study by researchers at the University of NSW and the University of Melbourne shows. Do you have women friends? Sisters? A wife, a daughter, a girlfriend, a mother? While indigenous women are far more likely to be raped, the statistics cut across all races and ethnic groups, all socioeconomic classes, and all geographic regions. So it is almost certain that whether you realise it or not, you know a woman who has been sexually violated. One in six, or almost 20,000 women a year, the Australian Institute of Criminology says." SMH july 2, 2012 Interesting that a man has to make a public declaration that he will not "commit, excuse, or remain silent about violence against women." Why do we have to state the bleeding obvious? Simple answer: Men, behave like men and problem goes away. Behave like the man God has called you be. Do we want to be governed by our feeling and be subject to our emotions? Or governed by the Image we have been created for?